And the world is tilting crazier by the minute and white kill black and black kill white and our neighborhoods go up in flames and where is the Prince of Peace now?

Come, O come, Emmanuel. God be with us.

And out of the endless black of 400 years of silence, of waiting, of wondering and asking why and how long, Lord, God answered the cry of His people and sent hope in the form of a baby who would rescue His people and defeat death, once for all.

Isn’t this why I really celebrate Christmas? Why I have utter and inexpressible joy this season despite hurt and loneliness and brokenness?

Not because I love presents and Christmas trees and spiced cider and candles and getting together with family and eating more chocolate than any sane person should eat (though I do).

Because our cries, my cries, have been heard and answered.

“A people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death, a light has dawned.” Is. 9:2

And yes, babies still die and marriages die and hopes and dreams and futures die, because it’s still a broken and sinful world. You may feel, like me, that deep darkness pressing in on you, like you’re still there in those 400 years of crying out in the silent waiting.

But the Messiah did come, just as He promised, and saved us from our sin. And He will come again, and heal all our sickness and brokenness, and every color and nation will praise Him together, and He will live among His people forever.

Among us. With us. Emmanuel.

And He left His Spirit with us, that literal flame of hope in the dark waiting for the Messiah to come again. His presence with us.

O come, O come, Emmanuel. God with us. And He is.

On the long days and years of waiting – Emmanuel. Into the most war-torn regions of the world – Emmanuel.